[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyHcPCUhQSc?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0&w=500&h=375]

HALLOWEEN MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS: “Straight Jacket” (1964)

This chilling, creepy movie starring the iconic Joan Crawford will amuse you and confuse you. It will disturb you and unnerve you, as you start to realize what Fay Dunaway may have based her portrayal of “Mommie Dearest” on. And, it will relieve you as you entertain the thought that maybe Christina Crawford is actually Joan’s biggest fan after all? Hint-hint…

Low-budget bravado; simple, mellow, campy, fun, tacky movie-treasure! And, all in glorious black & white! Why is that significant? Well, as the lovely Hitchcock beauty, Ava Marie Saint once said in an interview (paraphrased), “Black and white is art. B&w films can be beautiful and are particularly suited to the horror, suspense and thriller genres, because the color’s contrast to reality protects the viewer from getting too carried away, thus acting as a protective shield between fantasy and reality, keeping the viewer nicely relaxed and entertained at the same time.” 

I think it’s safe to lament that the days of the A-grade, sophisticated horror  film generally ended with the end of black and white. In fact, I would venture to say that the late 1950s to 1960s was the only period in film history when the horror genre could be enjoyed by general audiences (with some parental supervision, of course). And, it was also the only period in which the genre could be described as eerily beautiful rather than repulsively grotesque.

Fortunately for us though, those horror gems still exist in various formats for us to enjoy. So, when you get a chance, treat yourself to a viewing of “Straight Jacket”—-you’ll love it!

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Just a shout out to let all you lovely folks out there know that if any of you are classic movie fans, if you think Turner Classic Movies is possibly the best channel on TV, if you actually enjoy black and white films and think they are beautiful and highly artistic, and if you worry about the state of our arts and fashion today, then this blog might be right up your alley!

Follow me to keep up, cause I plan to update often! (^_^)

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mariedeflor:

Bette Davis in A Stolen Life, 1946

It’s ironic that I stumbled across this when I did (such a beautiful photo-set!), because A Stolen Life (1946) is one of the very next movies I plan to watch.

One note of interest is that Bette’s 1964 film, Dead Ringer has been dubbed by many fans as a sort of follow-up to this one. So, don’t make the same mistake I made—-watch A Stolen Life BEFORE you even think about watching Dead Ringer!

FYI: Dead Ringer was quite good, by the way. Implausible, but good. Still, that’s the subject of another post entirely. ; - )

The mixed-blessing of Ted Turner's colorization of films...

In a way, I am so thankful for Ted Turner! B/c before he started colorizing b&w films, in the 1980s, people didn’t seem to have a care in the world about film preservation. But, suddenly, here comes this man (who’s intentions were essentially noble but reasoning was flawed) who has these very touchy plans, and suddenly, people cared. Shortly after, the National Film Preservation Act was passed by Congress—-which was AMAZING! In short, this:   led to… This: …which led to This: (a film preservation guide) Now, isn’t that wonderful?!

I certainly hope that the Act includes a clause about the horrid practice of pan and scan (i.e. “this film has been modified to fit your TV) because even though our new wide-screen TVs have made the practice relatively outdated, it doesn’t change the fact that some films can now only be viewed in that butchered condition—-like the highly under-appreciated Perfect (1985), for example.

To me, cutting off up to 40 % of a film’s picture is just as bad if not worse than colorizing! Maybe someone should come along and publicly threaten to do that to all films—-then, you’ll see what you’ve been missing…up to 40% of the picture!

I used to like VHS, but after I discovered that almost all films on home-video have been “modified” I can’t wait to trash my whole collection in favor of the better, “un-cut” DVDs.

The charm of the TCM brand

I’m not sure why… but I really don’t like watching black and white movies online (on Netflix, I only want to watch color!) but take those same films and put them on Turner Classic Movies: TCM, and I’ll probably enjoy them immensely. Sometimes, I’m just ridiculous!